Graeme Souness stressed that it is 'imperative' Arsenal keep hold of captain Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang after the striker's two-goal heroics against Everton.
The 30-year-old netted twice at the Emirates to ensure Arsenal remain in contention for European football, and rose to become joint top of the Premier League scoring charts alongside Jamie Vardy.
Liverpool legend Souness believes that the former Borussia Dortmund frontman remains crucial to Mikel Arteta's rebuilding project at the club.
Aubameyang fired Arsenal in front with a sublime curling effort just after the half-hour mark, and secured a crucial victory with a textbook header that bounced off the turf and beyond Jordan Pickford.
And Souness also reserved particular praise for the striker's opener in the clash, with the talisman having burst beyond Everton's poorly-executed offside trap before finishing with aplomb.
'He is 30, he is at the top of his game.' Souness told Sky Sports. 'He is a really good player. Coming here I was worried how he would deal with the English game but he has taken it all in his stride.
'You see two different goals today, one where he has got a chance of getting properly injured with a coming together of heads, but he didn’t pull out in any shape. Good header, stuck it away.
'The one before that when he is set free, and very Thierry-esque where he is free. The alarm bells are ringing for a lot of strikers in that position, but when he gets free you’re thinking he is gonna put this away. He didn’t get excited and stroked it and passed the ball into the net.
'He is a top man. Can they hold onto him? It is imperative they do.'
Boss Arteta revealed after the game that Arsenal remain confident they can convince Aubameyang to stay.
The superstar has less than 18 months remaining on his current deal, and was heavily linked to several of Europe's biggest clubs during the summer, but Arteta vowed the club would fight to keep hold of their prized asset.
He said: 'He's a superb player. He completely deserves to be liked by other teams but hopefully we can convince him that this is the right place for him. And he has a future here.'